Ten-year-old Lexie used to love going to the shore. For as long as she can remember, shes spent every summer there with her parents, eating hamburgers, swimming in the ocean, and combing the beach for treasure. This summer is going to be different though. Lexies Mom and Daddy are divorced, and for the first time Mom wont be there. To make matters worse, Daddy has a surprisehis new girlfriend, Vicky, and her two sons are coming to stay with them for a week! Now Lexie has to share her house with perky Vicky, Vickys moody teenage son Ben, and messy three-year-old Harris. The little beach house just doesnt seem big enough for so many people. Is there still room for Lexie In a voice thats sharp, funny, and sincere, Newbery Honor-winning author Audrey Couloumbis tells the story of a girl discovering that if you pay attention, sometimes you can find treasure in the most unlikely places.
Publisher: n/a
|
375856323
|
Hardcover
Dani Noir
By Suma, Nova Ren
If this were a movie, you'd open to the first page of this book and be transported to a whole other world. Everything would be in black and white, except maybe for the girl in pink polka-dot tights, and this really great music would start to swell in the background. All of a sudden, you wouldn't be able to help it -- you'd be a part of the story, you'd be totally sucked in. You'd be in this place, filled with big lies, mysterious secrets, and a tween girl turned sleuth.... Zoom in on thirteen-year-old Dani Callanzano. It's the summer before eighth grade, and Dani is stuck in her nothing-ever-happens town with only her favorite noir mysteries at the Little Art movie theater to keep her company. But one day, a real-life mystery begins to unravel -- at the Little Art! And it all has something to do with a girl in polka-dot tights.
Publisher: n/a
|
1416975640
|
Hardcover
Step by Wicked Step
By Fine, Anne
Gathered together during one long, stormy night, five youngsters spend their time relating stories about their different families--feuding parents, off-the-wall sister, new stepmother--and learn valuable lessons about family, relationships, and personal identity.
Publisher: n/a
|
316283452
|
Hardcover
Water Balloon
By Vernick, Audrey
Marley's life is as precarious as an overfull water balloon - one false move and everything will burst. Her best friends are pulling away from her, and her parents, newly separated, have decided she should spend the summer with her dad in his new house, with a job she didn't ask for and certainly doesn't want. On the upside is a cute boy who loves dogs as much as Marley does . . . but young love has lots of opportunity for humiliation and misinterpreted signals. Luckily Marley is a girl who trusts her instincts and knows the truth when she sees it, making her an immensely appealing character and her story funny, heartfelt, and emotionally true.
Publisher: n/a
|
9780547595542
|
Print book
Bigger than a Bread Box
By Snyder, Laurel
A magical breadbox that delivers whatever you wish for—as long as it fits inside? It's too good to be true! Twelve-year-old Rebecca is struggling with her parents' separation, as well as a sudden move to her Gran's house in another state. For a while, the magic bread box, discovered in the attic, makes life away from home a little easier. Then suddenly it starts to make things much, much more difficult, and Rebecca is forced to decide not just where, but who she really wants to be. Laurel Snyder's most thought-provoking book yet.
Publisher: n/a
|
375869166
|
Hardcover
How I, Nicky Flynn, Finally Get a Life
By Corriveau, Art
Nicky Flynn’s life just got a whole lot harder. His parents are going through a messy divorce, and as a result he’s starting a new life, in a new city, in a new school. Now his mom has brought home Reggie, an eighty-pound German shepherd fresh from the animal shelter, who used to be a seeing-eye dog. At first Nick isn’t sure about this canine intrusion—it’s just another in a series of difficult changes. Soon, however, Nick is on the path to finding out why a seeing-eye dog would be left at an animal shelter, and along the way discovers that Reggie is a true friend that Nick can rely on. But when he tries to reconnect with his dad, Nick puts everything on the line, including the life of his new best friend. Art Corriveau is a brilliant new voice for middle-grade fiction.
Publisher: n/a
|
810982986
|
Hardcover
I, Lorelei
By Smith, Yeardley
Lorelei Connelly is no ordinary eleven-year-old. She's practical and a forward thinker. When her favorite cat, Mud, dies, she starts a journal to him, chronicling her daily life as a sixth grader so that he can continue to follow her rise to fame and fortune as a beloved actress, celebrated chef, and/or bestselling author. She figures it's also a good way to make sure her future biographers don't get anything wrong about her. But when her parents' marriage starts to unravel, Lorelei's lighthearted daily log becomes a poignant and defiantly humorous account of a family in distress as Lorelei grapples with the ground shifting under her feet.Yeardley Smith engages the reader with wit, candor, and authenticity.
Publisher: n/a
|
61493449
|
Hardcover
Bird Lake Moon
By Henkes, Kevin
Spencer thought the house might be haunted.Mitch knew it wasn't. And he knew why.The whole time Spencer and Mitch hung out together at Bird Lake that summer, there were secrets keeping them apart.And maybe a secret knowledge keeping them together, too—together like members of the same tribe. Like friends.
CHOOSING BETWEEN PARENTS AND FRIENDS Candyfloss is the perfect introduction to jacqueline Wilson. When Floss's mother and stepfather announce they are moving to Australia for six months, Floss has to decide whether to go with them or stay home with Dad--inept, but loving and always lots of fun. And how will her choice affect her friendship with her popular but not-so-loyal best friend, Rhiannon? About girls everywhere, for girls everywhere, Candyfloss speaks in universals: it's about friendship, family, and growing up in a complicated world. Like all Wilson's novels, it has an honesty and cheerful integrity that offers a real alternative to the materialistic values of so much fiction aimed at girls.
Publisher: n/a
|
1596432411
|
Hardcover
The Fairies of Nutfolk Wood
By Ullman, Barb Bentler
Hearing grand stories of little people and fairies who live in the forest from her neighbor, Hazel Wicket, after moving into the neighborhood with her mother, Willa finds the tales amusing and intriguing, but when she begins to see strange things for herself, the young girl is surprised to realize that Hazel isnt telling tall tales after all!
Publisher: n/a
|
60736143
|
Hardcover
Hugging the Rock
By Brown, Susan Taylor
When her mom runs away from home, Rachel is left behind with her emotionally distant father and many questions she cannot answer. Over time, she learns the truth about her mom. But it's only when she learns the truth about her dad, the rock- immoveable and always there for her to lean on-that Rachel can move toward understanding. Every word rings true in this achingly real novel in verse.Reviews"Written in a straightforward language, the text clearly reveals Rachel's emotions, describing moments both painful and reassuring."-School Library Journal"I have delayed writing about this book because I wanted to be sure my librarian friends were back in acquisition mode and ready to add this book to your B & T, Follet, or Mackin book order right now.
Publisher: n/a
|
1582461805
|
Hardcover
Sketches From a Spy Tree
By Zimmer, Tracie Vaughn
Perched in the branches of her favorite tree with her sketchbook, Anne-Marie watches the world go by. While recording her observations of neighbors, friends, and family, she thinks about her father, who left two years before; about Mike, who seems to be trying to take his place; about her twin sister, Mary Anne, who looks like her (at least to adults) but sees things very differently. Poems in Anne-Marie’s voice, sometimes humorous, sometimes poignant, and always honest, take readers through a year of change in the life of a family and in Anne-Marie’s heart. Illustrations that include paintings, drawings, and collage capture the text’s emotional range and Anne-Marie’s own artistic vision.
Publisher: n/a
|
618234799
|
Hardcover
Home Is East
By Ly, Many
Ever since she was a tiny child, Amy’s father’s friends have told her that her young, pretty mother is going to leave her. Of course Amy knows that could never happen—her parents love each other and her, so how could her mother ever leave? Then, one chilly afternoon, Amy’s mother never shows up to pick her up from school. In that moment, Amy confronts a world that she never wanted to know existed. Amy and her father are Khmer, or Cambodian. In Florida’s tight-knit Cambodian community, word travels fast—and pity soon becomes suffocating. When Amy and her father escape to California, Amy faces new challenges, including a father that she barely recognizes. But with strength and courage, Amy builds a new network of friends, and comes to understand her father’s deep sadness—and his fierce love for her.
Publisher: n/a
|
385732228
|
Hardcover
Naming Maya
By Krishnaswami, Uma
West meets EastAlthough Maya has done her best to avoid it, she is spending part of her summer in Chennai, India, with her mother, who is trying to sell her grandfather's old house. Soon Maya is drawn into a complicated friendship with eccentric Kamala Mami, who has been a housekeeper and cook for years in Maya's extended family. At the same time, Maya is thrust into an ocean of memories, all coming at her too quickly for her to understand. In particular, she is forced to examine the history of her parents' divorce -- all the more painful because she believes the trouble began with the choosing of her name. For years the tension has simmered in a cauldron of anxiety, secrets, and misunderstandings. It is only with the help of Kamala Mami and Maya's cousin Sumati that Maya is able to see what happened to her parents.
Publisher: n/a
|
374354855
|
Hardcover
Buttermilk Hill
By White, Ruth
Finding a way to cope through poetryThe days seem carefree for Piper Berry in her hometown of Buttermilk Hill, North Carolina -- days filled with fishing with her daddy and ten-year-old aunt/best friend Lindy and listening to her grandmother's stories. But then Mama, Tiny Lambert (whom readers may remember from Weeping Willow), announces she wants more out of life than being a housewife, and Daddy thinks this is unreasonable. He moves out and that ugly word d-i-v-o-r-c-e becomes a reality. Soon Mama's time becomes consumed with waiting tables and taking college classes. Daddy remarries, adopts two sons, and has a new baby daughter. Piper can't help but feel as if she doesn't belong anywhere anymore, and her only comfort is found in spending time with Lindy and their friend Bucky, whose life is full of his own share of family trouble.
Publisher: n/a
|
374351120
|
Hardcover
Stand Tall
By Bauer, Joan
Size matters, but Tree needs convincing. At six feet, three and a half inches, he's the tallest seventh grader in the history of his school, and people expect big things. But he's not good at basketball, he looks much older than he feels, and his parents' divorce is all too new. He copes by helping people like his grandpa, a Vietnam vet who's just had part of a leg amputated, and Sophie, a new girl who's being taunted at school. Taking things apart helps, too. He learned that from Grandpa. And in the process of seeing how lamps get rewired and laser pens work, in Grandpa's powerful memories of the Vietnam War, in helping an old soldier learn to walk again, in Sophie's insistence that Tree be himself, he begins to heal from the divorce and learns to stand tall. But when a flood threatens his home, Tree's new-found confidence is put to the test. Newbery Honor-winning author Joan Bauer's story, packed with memorable characters and her trademark humor, is about finding purpose in tough times. And it's about Tree's giant heart, not his giant size, making him a hero.
Publisher: n/a
|
9780399234736
|
Print book
Separate Sisters
By Springer, Nancy
Thirteen-year-old Donnie is so upset over her parents' divorce that she gets into increasingly serious trouble at school and does not recognize how much her older sister is hurting as well.
Publisher: n/a
|
823415449
|
Hardcover
Melonhead
By Guzman, Michael De
A road novel for young readersTwelve-year-old Sidney T. Mellon has an unfortunate name considering that his head is round and much too large for his body, his red hair stands straight up in a long crew cut, and his expression is perpetually flushed. A cantaloupe is what usually comes to mind. So does the nickname Melonhead.What chance does Sidney have, looking like this, yo-yoing back and forth between Seattle and Los Angeles, living part of each year with each of his divorced parents? He is disconnected from both distracted parents; he is disconnected from his own distracted self. No wonder he gets on a bus in Los Angeles one day and heads for New York City, making up ridiculous names and stories about himself at the drop of a hat whenever he meets somebody new.
Publisher: n/a
|
374349444
|
Print book
Skinny Melon and Me
By Ure, Jean
A smart and sassy novel about the inevitable changes that come with divorce, remarriage, and step-parents."One of the worst things about Roland Butter is his name. I thought at first it was just one of his dorky jokes, like: "Where do pigs leave their cars? At porking meters." Ha ha ha -- I don't think so. . . . I am certainly not going to change my last name to Butter, which is what Mom would like me to do. Cherry Butter! How could you get anywhere with a name like that?"Cherry Waterton wants a dog. She wants to keep a diary (which she does), and she wants to someday become a pop singer--or even a judge. Cherry Waterton knows what she wants. What she most decidedly does not want is a step-father. Especially if he's goofball Roland Butter, who pushes silly coded messages under her bedroom door.
Lexie
By Couloumbis, Audrey
Ten-year-old Lexie used to love going to the shore. For as long as she can remember, shes spent every summer there with her parents, eating hamburgers, swimming in the ocean, and combing the beach for treasure. This summer is going to be different though. Lexies Mom and Daddy are divorced, and for the first time Mom wont be there. To make matters worse, Daddy has a surprisehis new girlfriend, Vicky, and her two sons are coming to stay with them for a week! Now Lexie has to share her house with perky Vicky, Vickys moody teenage son Ben, and messy three-year-old Harris. The little beach house just doesnt seem big enough for so many people. Is there still room for Lexie In a voice thats sharp, funny, and sincere, Newbery Honor-winning author Audrey Couloumbis tells the story of a girl discovering that if you pay attention, sometimes you can find treasure in the most unlikely places.
Dani Noir
By Suma, Nova Ren
If this were a movie, you'd open to the first page of this book and be transported to a whole other world. Everything would be in black and white, except maybe for the girl in pink polka-dot tights, and this really great music would start to swell in the background. All of a sudden, you wouldn't be able to help it -- you'd be a part of the story, you'd be totally sucked in. You'd be in this place, filled with big lies, mysterious secrets, and a tween girl turned sleuth.... Zoom in on thirteen-year-old Dani Callanzano. It's the summer before eighth grade, and Dani is stuck in her nothing-ever-happens town with only her favorite noir mysteries at the Little Art movie theater to keep her company. But one day, a real-life mystery begins to unravel -- at the Little Art! And it all has something to do with a girl in polka-dot tights.
Step by Wicked Step
By Fine, Anne
Gathered together during one long, stormy night, five youngsters spend their time relating stories about their different families--feuding parents, off-the-wall sister, new stepmother--and learn valuable lessons about family, relationships, and personal identity.
Water Balloon
By Vernick, Audrey
Marley's life is as precarious as an overfull water balloon - one false move and everything will burst. Her best friends are pulling away from her, and her parents, newly separated, have decided she should spend the summer with her dad in his new house, with a job she didn't ask for and certainly doesn't want. On the upside is a cute boy who loves dogs as much as Marley does . . . but young love has lots of opportunity for humiliation and misinterpreted signals. Luckily Marley is a girl who trusts her instincts and knows the truth when she sees it, making her an immensely appealing character and her story funny, heartfelt, and emotionally true.
Bigger than a Bread Box
By Snyder, Laurel
A magical breadbox that delivers whatever you wish for—as long as it fits inside? It's too good to be true! Twelve-year-old Rebecca is struggling with her parents' separation, as well as a sudden move to her Gran's house in another state. For a while, the magic bread box, discovered in the attic, makes life away from home a little easier. Then suddenly it starts to make things much, much more difficult, and Rebecca is forced to decide not just where, but who she really wants to be. Laurel Snyder's most thought-provoking book yet.
How I, Nicky Flynn, Finally Get a Life
By Corriveau, Art
Nicky Flynn’s life just got a whole lot harder. His parents are going through a messy divorce, and as a result he’s starting a new life, in a new city, in a new school. Now his mom has brought home Reggie, an eighty-pound German shepherd fresh from the animal shelter, who used to be a seeing-eye dog. At first Nick isn’t sure about this canine intrusion—it’s just another in a series of difficult changes. Soon, however, Nick is on the path to finding out why a seeing-eye dog would be left at an animal shelter, and along the way discovers that Reggie is a true friend that Nick can rely on. But when he tries to reconnect with his dad, Nick puts everything on the line, including the life of his new best friend. Art Corriveau is a brilliant new voice for middle-grade fiction.
I, Lorelei
By Smith, Yeardley
Lorelei Connelly is no ordinary eleven-year-old. She's practical and a forward thinker. When her favorite cat, Mud, dies, she starts a journal to him, chronicling her daily life as a sixth grader so that he can continue to follow her rise to fame and fortune as a beloved actress, celebrated chef, and/or bestselling author. She figures it's also a good way to make sure her future biographers don't get anything wrong about her. But when her parents' marriage starts to unravel, Lorelei's lighthearted daily log becomes a poignant and defiantly humorous account of a family in distress as Lorelei grapples with the ground shifting under her feet.Yeardley Smith engages the reader with wit, candor, and authenticity.
Bird Lake Moon
By Henkes, Kevin
Spencer thought the house might be haunted.Mitch knew it wasn't. And he knew why.The whole time Spencer and Mitch hung out together at Bird Lake that summer, there were secrets keeping them apart.And maybe a secret knowledge keeping them together, too—together like members of the same tribe. Like friends.
Eggs over Evie
By Jackson, Alison
Twelve-year-old Evie Carson lives with her mom. In an apartment across the lake, Evies celebrity-chef dad is starting a new life with his young second wife, Angie, whos expecting twins. To make matters worse, Evies dad has custody of the beloved family dog. Navigating her new family situation is difficult, and Evie turns to her love of cooking as a way to stay connected to her father. Through cooking classes, Evie finds an unexpected friend in Corey, whose eccentric aunt Shanti might be able to make everyone a little happier. Evie learns to look outside herself, help others, and make friends where she never thought she could (she also learns to make a pretty darn good soufflé!) .
Candyfloss
By Wilson, Jacqueline
CHOOSING BETWEEN PARENTS AND FRIENDS Candyfloss is the perfect introduction to jacqueline Wilson. When Floss's mother and stepfather announce they are moving to Australia for six months, Floss has to decide whether to go with them or stay home with Dad--inept, but loving and always lots of fun. And how will her choice affect her friendship with her popular but not-so-loyal best friend, Rhiannon? About girls everywhere, for girls everywhere, Candyfloss speaks in universals: it's about friendship, family, and growing up in a complicated world. Like all Wilson's novels, it has an honesty and cheerful integrity that offers a real alternative to the materialistic values of so much fiction aimed at girls.
The Fairies of Nutfolk Wood
By Ullman, Barb Bentler
Hearing grand stories of little people and fairies who live in the forest from her neighbor, Hazel Wicket, after moving into the neighborhood with her mother, Willa finds the tales amusing and intriguing, but when she begins to see strange things for herself, the young girl is surprised to realize that Hazel isnt telling tall tales after all!
Hugging the Rock
By Brown, Susan Taylor
When her mom runs away from home, Rachel is left behind with her emotionally distant father and many questions she cannot answer. Over time, she learns the truth about her mom. But it's only when she learns the truth about her dad, the rock- immoveable and always there for her to lean on-that Rachel can move toward understanding. Every word rings true in this achingly real novel in verse.Reviews"Written in a straightforward language, the text clearly reveals Rachel's emotions, describing moments both painful and reassuring."-School Library Journal"I have delayed writing about this book because I wanted to be sure my librarian friends were back in acquisition mode and ready to add this book to your B & T, Follet, or Mackin book order right now.
Sketches From a Spy Tree
By Zimmer, Tracie Vaughn
Perched in the branches of her favorite tree with her sketchbook, Anne-Marie watches the world go by. While recording her observations of neighbors, friends, and family, she thinks about her father, who left two years before; about Mike, who seems to be trying to take his place; about her twin sister, Mary Anne, who looks like her (at least to adults) but sees things very differently. Poems in Anne-Marie’s voice, sometimes humorous, sometimes poignant, and always honest, take readers through a year of change in the life of a family and in Anne-Marie’s heart. Illustrations that include paintings, drawings, and collage capture the text’s emotional range and Anne-Marie’s own artistic vision.
Home Is East
By Ly, Many
Ever since she was a tiny child, Amy’s father’s friends have told her that her young, pretty mother is going to leave her. Of course Amy knows that could never happen—her parents love each other and her, so how could her mother ever leave? Then, one chilly afternoon, Amy’s mother never shows up to pick her up from school. In that moment, Amy confronts a world that she never wanted to know existed. Amy and her father are Khmer, or Cambodian. In Florida’s tight-knit Cambodian community, word travels fast—and pity soon becomes suffocating. When Amy and her father escape to California, Amy faces new challenges, including a father that she barely recognizes. But with strength and courage, Amy builds a new network of friends, and comes to understand her father’s deep sadness—and his fierce love for her.
Naming Maya
By Krishnaswami, Uma
West meets EastAlthough Maya has done her best to avoid it, she is spending part of her summer in Chennai, India, with her mother, who is trying to sell her grandfather's old house. Soon Maya is drawn into a complicated friendship with eccentric Kamala Mami, who has been a housekeeper and cook for years in Maya's extended family. At the same time, Maya is thrust into an ocean of memories, all coming at her too quickly for her to understand. In particular, she is forced to examine the history of her parents' divorce -- all the more painful because she believes the trouble began with the choosing of her name. For years the tension has simmered in a cauldron of anxiety, secrets, and misunderstandings. It is only with the help of Kamala Mami and Maya's cousin Sumati that Maya is able to see what happened to her parents.
Buttermilk Hill
By White, Ruth
Finding a way to cope through poetryThe days seem carefree for Piper Berry in her hometown of Buttermilk Hill, North Carolina -- days filled with fishing with her daddy and ten-year-old aunt/best friend Lindy and listening to her grandmother's stories. But then Mama, Tiny Lambert (whom readers may remember from Weeping Willow), announces she wants more out of life than being a housewife, and Daddy thinks this is unreasonable. He moves out and that ugly word d-i-v-o-r-c-e becomes a reality. Soon Mama's time becomes consumed with waiting tables and taking college classes. Daddy remarries, adopts two sons, and has a new baby daughter. Piper can't help but feel as if she doesn't belong anywhere anymore, and her only comfort is found in spending time with Lindy and their friend Bucky, whose life is full of his own share of family trouble.
Stand Tall
By Bauer, Joan
Size matters, but Tree needs convincing. At six feet, three and a half inches, he's the tallest seventh grader in the history of his school, and people expect big things. But he's not good at basketball, he looks much older than he feels, and his parents' divorce is all too new. He copes by helping people like his grandpa, a Vietnam vet who's just had part of a leg amputated, and Sophie, a new girl who's being taunted at school. Taking things apart helps, too. He learned that from Grandpa. And in the process of seeing how lamps get rewired and laser pens work, in Grandpa's powerful memories of the Vietnam War, in helping an old soldier learn to walk again, in Sophie's insistence that Tree be himself, he begins to heal from the divorce and learns to stand tall. But when a flood threatens his home, Tree's new-found confidence is put to the test. Newbery Honor-winning author Joan Bauer's story, packed with memorable characters and her trademark humor, is about finding purpose in tough times. And it's about Tree's giant heart, not his giant size, making him a hero.
Separate Sisters
By Springer, Nancy
Thirteen-year-old Donnie is so upset over her parents' divorce that she gets into increasingly serious trouble at school and does not recognize how much her older sister is hurting as well.
Melonhead
By Guzman, Michael De
A road novel for young readersTwelve-year-old Sidney T. Mellon has an unfortunate name considering that his head is round and much too large for his body, his red hair stands straight up in a long crew cut, and his expression is perpetually flushed. A cantaloupe is what usually comes to mind. So does the nickname Melonhead.What chance does Sidney have, looking like this, yo-yoing back and forth between Seattle and Los Angeles, living part of each year with each of his divorced parents? He is disconnected from both distracted parents; he is disconnected from his own distracted self. No wonder he gets on a bus in Los Angeles one day and heads for New York City, making up ridiculous names and stories about himself at the drop of a hat whenever he meets somebody new.
Skinny Melon and Me
By Ure, Jean
A smart and sassy novel about the inevitable changes that come with divorce, remarriage, and step-parents."One of the worst things about Roland Butter is his name. I thought at first it was just one of his dorky jokes, like: "Where do pigs leave their cars? At porking meters." Ha ha ha -- I don't think so. . . . I am certainly not going to change my last name to Butter, which is what Mom would like me to do. Cherry Butter! How could you get anywhere with a name like that?"Cherry Waterton wants a dog. She wants to keep a diary (which she does), and she wants to someday become a pop singer--or even a judge. Cherry Waterton knows what she wants. What she most decidedly does not want is a step-father. Especially if he's goofball Roland Butter, who pushes silly coded messages under her bedroom door.